Longhorns to lose Mitrou-Long

Elijah Mitrou-Long started nine games in two years with Texas, averaging 5.6 points 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists. His 10 points, five rebounds and three assists helped the Longhorns edge Purdue on Dec. 9.

Photo: Chris Covatta / Getty Images

AUSTIN — Two years ago, Elijah Mitrou-Long decided he was ready for something bigger.

He had just broken out as a sophomore at Mount St. Mary’s, averaging 15 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.6 steals. He earned first-team All-Northeast Conference honors and was named 2017 NEC tournament MVP.

On May 3 that year, the native Canadian revealed his new home: Texas. One day shy of the two-year anniversary of Mitrou-Long’s announcement, he made another: Texas was no longer his home.

Mitrou-Long posted a note to his Twitter account Thursday declaring his intent to enter the NCAA transfer portal and “take his talent elsewhere.”

“Appreciate the University of Texas for not only taking me in and supporting me on the court but also helping me become a better individual off the court,” he wrote. “I want to thank the coaching staff, the GA’s and the managers for helping me through my two years at UT. Most importantly, I want to thank my teammates, glad I met each and every one of you guys. Created memories that will last a lifetime.

“This journey has been one that I wouldn’t change for anything, and I’m ready for the next chapter in my book.”

The transition from NEC to Big 12 proved difficult for the lithe 6-foot-1 Mitrou-Long.

Driving lanes disappeared faster. Defenders closed out quicker. Staying in front of bigger, stronger, more athletic guards proved difficult. The talent disparity from old conference to new was as wide as Texas.

Still, Long had his moments.

He provided a spark off the bench in a late-season rout of Iowa State, finishing with 13 points, three rebounds and three assists. Mitrou-Long also put up a 10-5-3 line in a narrow home victory over Big Ten champion Purdue.

“He’s our spirit leader,” coach Shaka Smart said in March. “The guy that is the underdog. He’s a guy that was not heavily recruited. He’s a guy that people overlook. When he’s in the right place in terms of his spirit and his energy, he more than anyone on our team rubs off on other guys.

“He’s brought a level of spirit that has changed the makeup of our team.”

But the fit, both for team and player, never felt quite right. Now Mitrou-Long will seek out one final collegiate stop, and Texas will in turn get a chance to use its open scholarship to bring in a graduate transfer to round out its 2019-20 roster.

For now, Smart’s backcourt rotation looks like this: juniors Matt Coleman and Jase Febres, sophomore Courtney Ramey and incoming four-star freshman Donovan Williams (Missouri City Elkins). Senior Andrew Jones remains on the roster and hopes to play a bigger role after appearing in two games last year following months of leukemia treatment, but it’s too early to determine how much he’ll be able to contribute.

Smart and his staff would be getting a late start on the action but there are a number of immediately eligible transfer guards Texas could target, ranging from Texas A&M’s Admon Gilder to Oakland’s Jaevin Cumberland to Iowa’s Isaiah Moss.

More important than finding a new guard to bring in is the continued development of those already on the roster.

Ramey has positioned himself as this team’s leader and compass, but his game still needs to mature. Coleman is hoping to bounce back from a subpar sophomore season. Febres will focus on expanding his offensive repertoire while remaining the team’s top 3-point threat.

“The reality is, this offseason we really need to create huge growth in terms of our understanding of who we need to be individually and as a program,” Smart said after the Longhorns’ NIT championship win. “The best thing about this tournament and what we’ve been able to do, guys got a little taste of what it means to win and advance and send teams home and do something special together.

“We really, really want to have a critical mass of guys coming back moving forward that want to do that again — but on a bigger stage.”